NYE 2014

Im sitting in the living room, Greta is fast asleep and Dave is chasing Sully around the house. As soon as he is caught, he squeals with excitement before breathlessly saying 'anow!' which is his way of saying 'again'. I can't think of a better way to spend New Year's Eve.

What a year we have had. The kids have grown so much, and we have, too. Sully started the year with about five words, and although I have not counted, Im sure he is up to somewhere in the 1000 range. Having a two way conversation with him is awesome, something neither Dave or I take for granted. His current obsessions include his monster jammies, robots, choo choos, and Mickey. He is the sweetest boy and will frequently give me just the amount of snuggles I need, I cherish them all. Greta went from a sleepy newborn to a walking, talking, smiley little girl. She is so sweet. She has all 16 teeth and is a champion sleeper. She introduced us to the dermatologist as we continue to battle bouts of inflammation on her scalp and back. We are very good about staying on top of them in fear of ending up with a situation like last February. She loves to her dolls, Sully's toys, and playing on the stairs (a big no no around here). She loves to get in Sully's business, and he does the same to her. There are sweet sibling moments, buy boy, I had no idea sibling rivalry started so soon! All in all, the kids make our days both exhausting and fun. I am so grateful for them.

We were able to get out of town a few times, there is so much truth to the theory that traveling will never be the same once you have had kids. Most of my travels brought me to St Louis to be with my Stacy, weekends I would never choose to be anywhere else. I also had a couple of weekends to Minneapolis with Maggie, and one on my own to be with Leanne. We traveled with the kids and once without. I know Dave would like to get more traveling in, but I am at peace with where we are at this stage. I am excited to see where future travel takes us, but until then, we will do what we can when we can.

The house project has taken up much of our year. Between planning and waiting and picking a contractor and waiting and expediting the plans and waiting and waiting and waiting. We are anxious to see some big progress in 2015 in that department. We have a (very) soft completion date of mid-summer. I realize it is going to get worse before it gets better. Being an impatient person is painful in a process like this, but I am doing my best to keep my eye on the prize.

Overall, it has been a good year. There have been great celebrations and devastating losses. My relationships have strengthened and I am lucky enough to have even met some new friends whom I already hold close to my heart. I am fortunate to have the best partner through it all. Yes, Dave does work a ton, but when he is home, he is 100 percent home. I am optimistically looking forward to what 2015 has in store.

With that, I'll pour myself a glass of wine from the black box and enjoy the fire in my jammies.

Happy New Year!

Greta Girl, almost 14 months.  

Sully, 2 years and 7 mos.